MNLF’s political party endorses 5 senatorial candidates

COTABATO CITY— The Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) political party endorsed five senatorial candidates on Monday, April 28, including one who had been involved in deadly clashes with southern Moro secessionist forces during his time as a Philippine Marine Corps officer.

Bangsamoro Labor Minister Muslimin Sema, the figurehead of the MNLF's Bangsamoro Party, announced in Cotabato City on Monday that the party would endorse former Marine serviceman Ariel Querubin, a bemedaled officer, along with four other senatorial candidates: Norberto Gonzales, Bam Aquino, Gregorio Honasan, Raul Lambino, and Amira Lidasan, who hails from a noble Moro clan in Central Mindanao. Querubin belongs to the Philippine Military Academy Class of 1979.

The Bangsamoro Party (BAPA Party) has more than 500,000 documented members and supporters in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, whose territory encompasses the provinces of Maguindanao del Norte, Maguindanao del Sur, Lanao del Sur, Basilan, Sulu and Tawi-Tawi and the cities of Lamitan, Marawi and Cotabato.

“We have anointed these five senatorial candidates. We shall have a complete slate of favored senatorial candidates before the May 2025 actual polling day,” Sema, chairman of the MNLF's central committee, told reporters.

Querubin toured Cotabato City and Maguindanao del Norte on Monday and met with political leaders in both areas and discussed with them his plans on how to help push forward the government’s peace overtures with both the MNLF and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) that are now cooperating in managing the five-year BARMM regional government.

“We need to sustain the gains of this peace process. Why fight when we can resolve misunderstandings via peaceful dialogues,” Querubin told reporters while at Datu Odin Sinsuat, Maguindanao del Norte.

Officials of the MILF in Lanao del Norte, among them Abdullah Macapaar, a member of 80-seat Bangsamoro parliament, were reported earlier by radio stations in Central Mindanao to have manifested support for Querubin’s bid for a seat in the Senate.

Macapaar, also known as the MILF’s Commander Bravo, and his followers repeatedly clashed with Philippine Marine combatants, led by Querubin, in Kauswagan, Lanao del Norte during the 2000 “all-out war” against the front of then President Joseph Estrada.

The bloodiest clash between Macapaar’s group and the Marines was on March 17, 2000, which resulted in heavy fatalities on both sides. It was then that Querubin was awarded the Medal of Valor by the Armed Forces for his gallantry in combat.

“Commander Bravo and I became good  friends after I met him and his subordinate-commanders not too long ago. They even named me an adopted Maranao community leader during that memorable event,” Querubin said.

Sema said Querubin is no stranger to Cotabato City, having served as commander of a Marine battalion assigned in the city while still a colonel.

Sema said officials, members and supporters of the BAPA Party are convinced that Gonzales, Aquino, Honasan, Lidasan and Querubin will focus on initiatives complementing the national government’s Mindanao peace process if elected as senators.

“We are pretty confident of that,” Sema said.